Napkin holder for headrests



Sept. 13, 1938. J. H. ABBOTT,

NAPKIN HOLDER FOR HEADRESTS Filed May 4, 1936 IMP Patented Sept. I3, 1938 UNITED STATES I 2,130,217 NAPKIN HOLDER FOR HEADRESTS James Herman Abbott, Bala-Qynwyd, Pa.

Application May 4,

1 Claim.

My invention relates to mechanism suitable for supporting towels or napkins over head rests in cooperative relation with the support for the head rest. It is illustrated with a standard dental head rest but is intended for any purpose towhich it may be adapted.

A purpose of the invention is to provide novel mechanism of the kind indicated adapted toeasy and inexpensive manufacture and well suited to the needs of service. a

A further purpose is to mountone or more napkin-supporting or towel-supporting clips'pivotally at the axis of adjustable head supporting mechanism and to clip a napkin to intermediate parts of a yoke pivotally supporting; said mechanism.

A further purpose is to hold a towel or napkin between a swinging head frame and the yoke by which the head frame is mounted so that the towel will be clamped against one or other of the relatively swinging parts.

A further purpose is to mount a clip as an extension from or in place of a friction washer between and frictionally engaging opposing hubs of a yoke and a cradle support pivoted to the yoke, the friction engagements adapting the head support and clip to stay put in their difierent positions.

Further purposes will appear in the specifica- 30 tion and in the claim.

.I have elected to show one main form only, with slight variations, among the different forms of my invention available,.selecting a form that is practical and efiicient in operation and which well illustrates the principles involved.

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a plan and a rear elevation of a head-rest with my invention applied thereto, the illustration being intended to comprise a conventional head support of the prior art and my napkin holding auxiliary mechanism thereof cooperating with a yoke.

Figure 2a. is a fragmentary figure corresponding generally to Figure 2 but showing different holding mechanism for the clip at its pivot.

Figure 2b is a fragmentary view showing a slightly different clip.

Figure 3 is a section of Figure 2 taken on the line 3--3 thereof.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section of Figure 2 taken on the line 44 thereof and showing the clip in dot-and-dash lines in its open position.

Figure 5 is a perspective of a clip used in my invention, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Like numerals refer to like parts in all figures.

1936, Serial No. 77,739

Describing in illustration and not in limitation and referring to the drawing:

A main bracket i0 is shown with a ball H for ball and socket adjustable connection with supporting structure not shown and that usually comprises a fixture of a dental chair;

The bracket [0 is suitably bent adjacent the head to present the ball suitably to the socket and extends outwardly to expand into a yoke i2 with the yoke arms i2, I2 bored in axial alinement to journal the opposite ends of a pad-sup porting member 13, illustrated as a cradle. Axially alined pivots I4 support the cradle and permit it to swing.

Head pads l5 have pivot support not shown at It on suitable lugsv ll of the cradle.

All of the mechanism, as thus far described, is intended for any. suitable equipment and as described is well known as good construction existing in the prior art.

In dental practice, the head-supporting equipment for each new patient is covered with a fresh towel or napkin, hereinafter referred to as napkin. This has often been done by fastening the napkin about the individual head pads. In each case it has been the practice to supply a fresh napkin for each patient, which napkin covers and is itself supported by the pad-supporting equipment carried by the bracket NJ.

My invention, cooperative with this head piece and with similar head pieces of the prior art, is intended to prevent displacement of the napkin due to movements of the patient or from initially imperfect fastening of the napkin. It is also intended to permit easier, quicker and more definite fastening of the napkin and to permit the use of smaller or shorter napkins than have been used prior to my invention.

I mount the napkins to the yoke or to the cradle rather than about or upon the pads and grip the napkins by clips which are retained by the parts. I prefer to hold the napkins by clips at opposite sides of the head-rest, each clip pivoting about one of the cradle pivots whereby the pivot pin and the adjacent faces of the yoke and cradle frictionally hold the clip and guide its opening and closing movements, insuring the easy placement of the clips to their open and closed positions and that they stay wherever put, out of the way in their open positions for the placement of each fresh napkin and later in their closed positions clipping the napkin to the yoke arms, as in Figure 2.

In Figure 2 the clip arms l8 are formed with clips l9 at their free .ends for engagement with the intermediate portions 20 of the yoke, the napkin being held between the clips and the yoke.

ure 21) this roughening is shown at I93.

In all of the figures the clip members (i. e. clips with arms) are opposite counterpartsone only being shown in some of the views.

It is desirable that the clip members shall be pivoted about some part of the head-rest. In the existing head-rest the clip arms conveniently replace and also function as washers which normal- 1y are found between the faces 24 of the yokes and the faces 25 of the cradle at the pivot pin M. The ends of the clips can be made of such thickness as just to take the place of the existing washers, permitting them to serve the function of the washers at the same time that the pivot pins can thus support the clips.

In Figure 20. another construction is shown in which the clip arm is pivoted outside the yoke, on the outer portion of the pivot pin and between a head I4 thereof and the adjoining portion of the yoke.

With the pivot point as shown in Figure 2a it is of course more convenient to clip to the yoke, a there shown, than to the cradle.

I find it much more desirable toeiiect. the gripping action against the napkin by the friction of generally U-shaped clips which grip from opposite sides and thus hold. the napkin between the inner clip faces and the outer faces of the yoke, rather than to use a single face of the clip arm to give the necessary friction. Nevertheless my invention can be carried out in the latter way, namely by using the spring of the arm to press a single clip face against one side of the yoke or cradle. This has been illustrated in Figure 2b.

The spring effect is rendered by the arm which is held like a washer between the yoke and cradle.

In using my invention the clips are raised and a napkin is placed with one end over the yoke, in position to be held by the clip which is brought into gripping position. The other end of the napkin is then free to be thrown over the head pads I5.

In view of, my invention and disclosure variation and modifications to meet individual whim or particular need will doubtless become evident to others skilled in the art, to obtain part or all of the benefits of my invention without copying the structure shown, and I, therefore, claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a head-rest, a pair of relatively pivoted parts comprising a yoke, a cradle and pivots at opposite ends of the cradle pivotally supporting the cradle in the yoke, in combination with clips one on each pivot and each having a clip washer portion surrounding a pivot, between the confronting faces of the cradle and yoke, and said each clip having an extended portion bent away from the washer portion and toward its end being transversely curved to accommodate the surface of the adjacent yoke portion to hold a napkin thereto.

JAMES HERMAN ABBOTT. 

